Madison High School

Exploring is a personal pastime of mine; I like discovering new things in old places. Like many Madison students, however, I live in a low-income household, where simply traveling to and from school is difficult. For most of my adolescence, my ability to find gems around Portland was drastically hindered.

When I caught word that PPS students would receive year-long bus passes, I jumped for joy; I could get out and explore again, free of financial worries, with a little extra change to spend, in hopes of a great café in which to splurge.

The Academy Theater (copyright Olga Lynette Hanson)

With some help from friends and family, I have found some great places around town, everywhere from the heart of the city to outer east side. All are right off TriMet vehicles, all are easy to access, and most importantly, all are fantastic places to be. This month, we begin with food.

We start off close to home, in a blooming neighborhood right off 82nd. The area on SE Stark between 82nd and 70th is attracting some interesting—and fun—business. Accessible via the 72-Killingsworth/82nd and 15-Belmont/NW 23rd bus lines, this area is famous for the Academy Theater (78th and Stark). The antique establishment has a business structure much like the Laurelhurst Theatre; it’s a comfortable place, serving great food and brew (which is why parental accompaniment is mandatory for anyone under drinking age). The Academy also happens to sell the best pizza on the face of the Earth. This is because directly next to the Academy Theater is Flying Pie Pizzeria, one of the only places in Portland that continues to make genuine hand-tossed pizzas.

“I love it more than the Gods know,” says Madison senior Forest Turner, a usual at the establishment. “They pack the toppings; if you order a pepperoni pizza, they literally bring you half pepperoni, half pizza.”

Pizzas aren’t the only delectable things you can get in that area; Ya Hala, a Lebanese restaurant on Stark and 80th, serves fresh and delicious Mediterranean food. Madison parent, David Maclaine loves it because “It’s a family restaurant that is one of the best places for a family gathering you can get.”

A newer installment, a small place called Miyamoto, serves

straight-from-the-sea sushi in an intimate environment just north of Stark on 81st. One of the great quirks about the place is that the fish (almost entirely raw, unlike most commercially sold sushi) is sliced and prepped right in front of you, as you order. My mother, an avid fan of the place, says excitedly, “It’s just a nice, small place with unbelievable sushi.”

Moving farther southeast, we continue our search for great food on Hawthorne, a street with easy access via the 14-Hawthorne line. Although Hawthorne is not recognized for its food, don’t be fooled by the various vintage and gift shops. When you make it there, it is your obligation to head straight for the Oasis café, a pizza place on the corner of SE 37th and Hawthorne, within spitting distance of the Bagdad Theater and a Powell’s book store.

Another popular eatery, even further from Madison, is Voodoo Doughnuts Too!, located in a bright pink building on Davis Street near 15th Ave, directly off the line 12-Barbur/Sandy Blvd. As opposed to the original Voodoo Doughnuts, a hole-in-the-wall with huge lines and great pastries, Voodoo Too! adds all the great things about the first location and makes it a much less painful task to enjoy a unique and delicious doughnut.

The "voodoo doll" doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts

Inching even closer to “a long way away” with every stop, we continue onward to Marrkesh, a boisterous Moroccan restaurant, complete with pillow seating and authentic belly dancers. “When you’re looking for someplace special, it makes you feel like you’re getting something special, and the streetcar runs very close by,” says Maclaine. Too right, he is; the streetcar stops directly in front of the place. It’s a perfect place for a celebratory occasion or just a fun night away from home.

Probably one of the best shopping districts in the city, SW 23rd offers lots of quality clothing, food, and trinkets for those with a little extra change to jingle around.

My favorite restaurant is Pepino’s, a wonderful Mexican place on 23rd at Kearney. On my special trips to the place, I tend to go for the Sweet Tequila burrito, stuffed to the brim with grilled tofu, beans, jack cheese, and a tequila BBQ sauce you wouldn’t believe. You can substitute the “icky” stuff with shrimp or chicken, of course, but trust me: It’s better with the light taste and texture of the tofu.

The place I visit most often nowadays (and my latest conquest), is Fehrenbacher Hof, the lovechild coffee shop of the Goose Hollow Inn, located off the MAX Red/Blue line (the Goose Hollow/SW Jefferson St MAX Station) on SW Jefferson and 19th. It’s a very small place, but the sort of place that you adapt to quite easily. After a week or two of daily trips, the entire staff knew me by name, and knew what I wanted when I walked in: During the summer, a nice, clean iced

Americano with a shot of vanilla; in the winter, a nonfat caramel latte. The coffee and snacks there are excellent, as well.

There are many benefits to knowing your city and all its secrets. Because of the ID’s we’ve been provided, discovering your own hot spot is as simple as boarding a bus. This is a town full of treasures; Madison students know that more than anyone. It’s time to find some more gold in the green city we call home.

Thursday The 12th

“This is it”

The King of Pop goes out with a big-screen bang

Maddie Bumb

It has been five months since Michael Jackson’s untimely death – five months packed with of obsessive media reports and endless rumors and speculations. However, the new Jackson documentary, This Is It, makes you forget all about the chaotic whirlwind in the wake of the death of the King of Pop. Instead, you walk away from the movie remembering him as the amazing entertainer he truly was. Which makes his passing only that much more tragic and heart-wrenching…

No matter what your opinion is of the man, you can’t deny that there will never be another person like Michael Jackson.

The two-hour-long film captures the last few months of Jackson’s complicated life, as he busily prepared for his series of would-be comeback shows in London. It’s a mixture of rehearsal performances, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews. It opens with a tearful batch of background dancers, each explaining how Jackson has influenced them in their lives. It is clear that they are all diehard MJ fans themselves. The film proves to be a movie for every Michael Jackson fan, or anyone who just appreciates a good moonwalk.

Some highlights of This Is It include amazing performances from Michael Jackson classics like “Smooth Criminal” and “The Way You Make Me Feel.” Not to mention an updated version of “Thriller” that includes creepy new graveyard footage and a gigantic robotic spider. A lesson on correct crotch-grabbing techniques, and an awesome keyboardist named, Mo Pleasure, add a lighter note to the film. But the true entertainment comes from Jackson’s eccentric outfits, such as his pair of gold-sparkled pants and metallic silver jacket, just to mention some of the better ones.

So for all you Michael Jackson fans out there, take advantage of the opportunity to see this larger-than-life superstar on the big screen one last time.